November 2nd, 2009
TV3: hetero-normative hogwash or what?
I just saw this little piece of video commercial for TV3 on their own TV channel:
After that, I fired away the following e-mail to info@tv3.se and RFSL (translation follows):
Hej!
Jag såg nyligen på TV3 att ni spelar en liten vinjett/reklamsnutt för TV3, där en stiliserad bild av en man först visas, därefter en stiliserad bild av en kvinna, följt av en stor 3:a.
Mina frågor till er är som följer: vad är bildföljden tänkt att symbolisera? Varför visas inte två stiliserade bilder av män, eller två stiliserade bilder av kvinnor?
Jag ser fram emot ert svar.
Hälsning,
Niklas Pivic
In English:
Hello!
I recently saw on TV3 that you play a little vignette/commercial where a stylized image of a man first appears, followed by a stylised image of a woman, followed by a big "3".
My questions to you are: what is flow of imagery supposed to symbolise? Why are you not showing two stylised images of men, or two stylised images of women?
I look forward to your reply.
Greetings,
Niklas Pivic
I’ll be sure to post any updates right here on my blog, if they arrive; I seriously doubt it, in which case I deem TV3 to be frightfully hetero-normative and sadly not very updated in any way. As Mia saw the vignette with me, she deemed the “3″ to say that man + woman1 implies a third party, i.e. a child.
- I.e. 1+1=3, i.e. sex.[back]
November 2nd, 2009 at 23:55
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November 3rd, 2009 at 07:52
I wouldn't have half as much of a problem if it wasn't for the fact that there's just the female + male version. No male + male. No female + female. It's the lack of alternatives that annoys me.
I usually don't care too much about commercials because I know they're all about sexism, materialism and cheap tricks to convince me I'll be happier person with this or that product. But tv3's commercial really annoys me, even though it's literally seconds long. This little clip followed by a trailer for "Ensam mamma söker" where single moms claim they won't be fulfilled without a man in their life… (Hey moms! This isn't about your personal life, merely the concept.)
It'll be interesting to hear what tv3 has to say because, personally, I can't find any other explanation other than the already mentioned. Claiming that "both men and women enjoy tv3" seems a little far-fetched. I'm eagerly waiting…
November 3rd, 2009 at 13:02
Indeed! Lack of alternatives is the term I should have used in my post. I feel sexism being this blatantly thrown out into the open is like getting slapped in the face. Let's hope for a quick reply, even though I think it won't happen.